Area restaurants urged to go smoke-free for a day

A coalition of health-care organizations in Southeast Missouri has asked area restaurants to go smoke-free for a day during the Great American Smokeout.

The group, Cape Girardeau Smoke Free Community Partners, wants to promote healthy environments, and breathing cleaner air indoors and out is part of that project. About 60 restaurants in Cape Girardeau and Jackson already are smoke-free.

Members of the coalition visited several restaurants last week asking them to consider going smoke-free, even if it's just for a day.

"Even smokers have complained that it gets too smoky," said Jerome Hulehan, chairman of the Cape Girardeau County Tobacco Prevention Coalition.

"Smokers don't want to eat where they are smoking," he said.

Hulehan lived for many years in California and said restaurants there went smoke-free with some positive results. Other cities across the country are also considering going smoke-free in all restaurants, he said.

The goal in Cape Girardeau isn't to prohibit smoking altogether, but to make sure that restaurants are in compliance with the Clean Indoor Air Law. The law took effect in 1992 and requires restaurants to have designated and ventilated smoking areas. It also prohibits smoking in public places.

The problem is that many people don't know about the law, particularly in rural areas, said Carolyn Hughes with Tobacco Free Missouri.

The coalition's goal is to see more restaurants become smoke-free as customers request it.

"We are a smoking-dominated society," Hulehan said. The coalition aims to educate people about second-hand smoke and the health risks associated with smoking.

The Cape Girardeau Smoke Free Community Partners includes members from the American Cancer Society, Tobacco Free Missouri, American Lung Association and Community 2000.